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join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on mobile and desktop today. welcome to our continuing coverage of israel at war, i'm jim acosta in washington. we begin this hour with a growing death toll in the war. minutes ago, the hamas-run media reported that 248 people have died in gaza just in the last 24 hours. palestinian health officials say 4,300 people have died in gaza since the star of the war. that number set to rise as

israel's military says it is increasing air strikes beginning today this is new cnn video showing israeli troops and machinery positioned along the border, awaiting the order to launch a ground invasion. commanders are being told that, quote, forces will enter gaza, for the first time since the war began two weeks ago, humanitarian briefly rolled into gaza, but the rafah border crossing is closed again after that 20-truck convoy made its way through. relief agencies, in the meantime, say additional shipments of water, fuel, and food are urgently needed than gaza's hospital system is teetering on the verge of collapse. and one day after being freed by hamas, an american mother and daughter are one step closer to reaching u.s. soil. judith and her 17-year-old daughter natalie are reuniting with family today, andt an israi military base. natalie's father saying she is expected home by tuesday for her

18th birthday. joining me now, michael orrin. ambassador orrin, thank you for joining us. let's begin, if we can, with some good news, for a change, and that is the release of this american mother and daughter. what's your response to that? and why do you think that this is happening now? >> well, thank you, jim. thank you for having me. well, we're delighted that judith and natalie are being reunited with their family. we want all the hostages to be reunited with their families. uncon unconditionally. at once. and that would be very welcome. it's no substitute for our need to deal with hamas, to uproot and destroy hamas. >> and do you think israel has delayed a ground incursion to allow more time to negotiate the release of hostages? do you think that's entering the equation here? and do you think that should be urged at this point, if there is some progress in getting hostages out, maybe now is the time to hold off a little bit? what do you think?

>> no, i think that our clocks, our schedules, are not timed to hamas' clocks. we have many, by the way. for example, we have 360,000 reservists who have been called up. these are people who have left their jobs, their families, their children. they can't remain mobilized forever. that is a clock, certainly. there's a clock of moving the palestinian civilian population away from the battle area to reduce civilian casualties as much as possible. that is progressing. so, there are a number of clocks here. not to give time for hamas to decide whether it's going to release hostages. as delighted as we were that judith and natalie were reunited with their family, we understand what hamas is doing. it is trying to release hostages in sort of a drip, drip way. in order to drive a wedge between israel and its democratic allies, particularly with the united states of america, to get calls for a cease-fire, to negotiate more time. what does that mean? a cease-fire? a cease-fire means hamas wins. cease-fire means hamas gets away

with massacring, torturing, burning, rapes, 1,501,500 of ou citizens, firing rockets at our neighborhoods and gets away with it. that's what a cease-fire means. and it means that hamas is not holding hostages just in gaza. hamas is holding all of us hostage. and we can't let that happen. >> and what is your sense, as to what the israeli defense forces ardoin there was some expectations, a lot of expectations, really, that this ground incursion was going to begin maybe a week ago. and i'm curious why you think that might have been delayed, or pushed off a little bit, did it having v have something to do with the president's trip? what are your thoughts on that? >> again, my -- i'm not a spokesman for the government. i will tell you, my feeling, they delayed it because of the president's visit, the secretary of state's visit. they may have delayed it because of the hospital incident and

clarifying that israel was not responsible for the death that occurred in the parking lot of that hospital. there are many factors that went into it, but again, our clocks are ticking, and those clocks are, you can't keep 360,000 basically young people, the most productive part of our economy, mobilized indefinitely. moral issues, they're ready to go. as for the actual fighting, unfortunately, i fought in gaza several times, and it's a nightmare, jim. it's not like you see in a movie. it's alleyways that are heavily mined and wired and the major fighting is not above ground, it's below the ground, where hamas has dug count les miles of tunnels and bunkers, all of them mined. and israel's going to have to fight below the ground, as well. >> and i know you don't speak on behalf of the israeli government, let me ask this question, and that is, what do you think of the wisdom of sending a large-scale ground

contingent in to conduct this incursion? do you think that is the right approach? >> well, certainly wiser than sending in a small contingent. this is a major ground operation. you want to do it with sufficient forces. i think we've learned -- we went in on the ground in 2014, it was a very costly operation. we didn't go deep into gaza. we only went a mile or two. this is actually going to go into the heart of gaza city and root out hamas. and i think israel has learned to proceed cautiously with advances being preceded by artillery, by very strong intelligence to find out where the enemy is. there will be unceasing efforts to locate those hostages and try to rescue them. and the big -- the big challenge there is locating them. we've had hostages in gaza for years now, for years. and we haven't been able to locate them. extremely difficult. so, all of that is proceeding --

didn't think is going to be a lightning strike. i think it's going to be cautious, moving, say, alley by alley, bunker by bunker, and you're going to get some really tough challenges, because hamas puts its major headquarters under hospitals, under schools. so, you can imagine what a tremendous moral challenge that is, not just a military challenge. we're going to be grappling with all of that in the coming days. >> and what unintended consequences do the israelis need to be worried about at this point? might you somehow trigger a response from hezbollah? might this spill over in ways that perhaps you didn't imagine? you're talking to an american audience here, and obviously there are folks here in the united states who remember, and you remember all too well, ambassador, what took place after the united states went into iraq, went into afghanistan, they ended up being very lengthy and costly commitments. >> yeah, just a personal note, back in 2003, i was merely a

historian and not an ambassador, i was called into congress, i said, invade, get out, don't get involved in state-making. hopefully israel won't do that, as well. we actually have a plan for the morning after, that's what president biden wanted to hear. i hope it involved other palestinian elements there, in order to create a stable government that can really enable gaza to reach its potential, because there's amazing potential there. it's very fertile ground. one of the unlikely, or the wild card situations, yes, hezbollah could enter, and we're poised and ready for that. my expectations is that hezbollah will come in at a point where the israeli army is deeply engaged in gaza, perhaps tired from fighting for a week or two, and then hezbollah could strike. we already now have these missiles fired at us from yemen, by the houthi rebels, the "uss missiles, we're grateful for

that. there are pro-iranian missiles in iraq that could come. but the wild card, right now, really, scares revery much, because i've had a lot of personal experience, you are fighting in a densely populated area. all you need is one tank shell or one artillery shell to hit a building and cause a great number of casualties, and that can change the course of a conflict. this has happened several times. it happened in our 2006 lebanon war, it happened in an operation in 1996 called grapes of wrath against hezbollah in lebanon. one shell changed the whole course of the war. you're up against the law of averages. >> yeah, and that leads me to this question, is, what are the prospects of the israelis and the palestinians to get back to the negotiating table, back to the bargaining table? or -- has -- i guess perhaps this gets to the question of the mind-set inside israel right now, because when i talk to folks about this, you know, they

will say, israelis will say, you folks in the united states, you just don't understand the way we feel right now, how we feel deep down in our bones about this, and why we feel like we need to -- that this time is different. does -- is that perhaps getting back to the bargaining table to some extent? >> let me express it as a hope. one thing is certain. right now, israelis are saying, and the vast majorities are saying, look, there is a palestinian authority in the west bank, that's headed by mahmoud abbas who is in the 18th year of his four-year term. he will not stand for re-election, because he know hamas is going to win, and what if we had ah hamas state there, and not just in gaza, our entire state would be in danger of being wiped out. i'm sitting in southern tel aviv, i look out my window and i see that area, that's how close it is here, i wouldn't be in rocket range i'd be in -- we understand that. we can't risk this right now.

but i would express a hope that the elimination of hamas, which has always been one of the major obstacles to war, i've been in v volved in the peace process for years. we tried to make peace with the plo and hamas came and blew us up and they also killed palestinians. hamas doesn't want peace it all. they will blow it up. so, the elimination of hamas will remove an obstacle. so, being an optimist, you know, personally, i hope that when hamas is removed as that obstacle, we can begin to think about some type of reconciliation. >> all right, ambassador michael oren, thank you so much for those insights. really appreciate it. >> thank you, good evening. >> to you, as well. and we'll have more on the war in israel ahead, but we're also following the drama up on capitol hill. there's been a lot of it. there isn't much the house can do right now until there is a speaker, and they certainly don't have one at this point. we'll talk about the prospects for that, coming up next.

charlie ham. breaking news to tell you out of detroit. a detroit synagogue says its president has died after police say a woman was found with multiple stab wounds outside of her home this morning. we're still piecing together what exactly has taken place, but cnn's polo sandoval has more. >> reporter: there's a lot that we don't know, but we know the detroit community is certainly in mourning, after they learned of the death of the president of the board of the downtown synagogue there in detroit. the synagogue identifying their president as samantha wool. separately, detroit police confirming the death of an individual. initially, officers were called out to that home and found an unresponsive individual, according to detroit police, lying on the ground. ame medical personnel said that

person is dead. separately, what you have now, is the downtown synagogue in detroit confirming the death of the president of their board, samantha wool. already, some widespread reaction that we're getting in from elected officials, including representative elise slot kin, who took to social media who said that wool at one point worked for her, was on her staff, the representative writing that wool did for her team as deputy district director what came so naturally to wool, that representative writing that she often helped others and served constituents separately in politics and in the jewish community. she dedicated her short life to building an understanding across faiths, bringing light into the face of darkness. that was a statement released by elise slot kin about samantha wool. still so many questions, of

course, the most important one is a possible motive in wool's death. homicide investigators in detroit are on the case right now, they say they don't plan on hosting any sort of press conferences any time soon, however, we are still pressing them for more information to try to learn more about the death of this individual, the president of the board of the downtown synagogue in detroit. jim? >> all right, thank you so much. the world health organization says hospitals in gaza have reached a, quote, breaking point. the first convoy of trucks entered into gaza this morning, carrying vital aid, including trauma medicines and emergency relief supplies, life-saving health supplies, but palestinian officials say that's not enough. joining me now to talk about that, is spokesperson for the palestine red crescent society. thank you very much for being with us. we know your organization is working to make sure these supplies reach the right recipients.

what can you tell us about this delivery this morning? and, i guess, the other pressing question is, when will more su supply, aid relief, come in? >> thank you for having me. the palestine red crescent today has received about 20 trucks from the egyptian red crescent, which has water, fuel, medical supplies, and medicine. the palestine red crescent teams were unable to unload the trucks in gaza strip, which was moved toll one of our warehouses, to where we will start distributing the aid, based on what was received from the egyptian red crescent. there is some from the w.h.o., along with the palestine red crescent. hopefully mtomorrow will start the distribution process to deliver the aid to the most

needy areas in gaza, basically, one of the most needy areas is hospitals, where hospitals now are lacking everything, facing a great shortage in medicine and medical supplies. it's worth mentioning that this first shipment of the humanitarian aid does not include fuel. all of the fuel is extremely needed to continue the operation of hospitals, as well all know, hospitals in gaza are now running out of fuel, which is needed to have the electricity. without having the fuel into gaza, that means that death of thousands of palestinian civilians who are patients injured in the hospital. also, all ambulances will stop running, stop being able to provide their emergency medical services, along with bakeries, who also need electricity, they're going to stop having bread. it's going to be absolutely a

humanitarian catastrophic. >> and do you know, can you confirm that these trucks have reached the right recipients, the intended recipients of this aid? and -- >> yes. >> what a-- and what can you tel us about more trucks coming in? >> yes, as i said, the trucks are now at our warehouses. tomorrow, we'll start the distribution process, they will handle the distribution to give the aid to where it should go, according to -- that was received from the egyptian red crescent. as far as, like, the situation is just this kind of aid is just a drop. just a drop in the ocean, because there is a huge need in gaza. whether we're talking about 2 million palestinian civilians who are in need for food and water, because they don't have food and water, or also talking about hospitals, all hospitals

in gaza, not only one, are l lacking medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel, so, hopefully, in the upcoming days, much aid will be allowed to get in into gaza, especially we're talking about dozens of trucks are still waiting at the border, still waiting to get the approval to be in. we call on the international community to continue advocating, to ensure the continuity of aid into gaza. this process should not be hindered. also, not from the rafah crossing border, but from all crossing borders, even from the israeli occupation forces, because it is the responsibility of israel as an occupying power to ensure, to fulfill basic humanitarian needs of civilians in gaza, along with medical supplies and medicines that is urgently needed to the

continuity of work of hospitals. >> yeah, and -- we talked to a spokesperson for the israeli defense forces earlier on in this program, and he indicated that the idf is not really thrilled with the idea of allowing more of these trucks in, because they fear that these supplies will be deliver ed to the hands of hamas. can you verify whether or not that is the case? how do you know? >> i just said, it's their responsibility to ensure the entry of the trucks from the borders, that is controlled by the israeli occupation forces, to allow the entry of trucks, because it's the responsibility of that power to ensure the basic needs of civilians, even during conflict times. this is according to the international law, according to what's happened today, as i just highlighted, all the aid is now

at our warehouses. we know, they are an accredited organization, along with the palestine red crescent, we are part of the international movement of the red cross. our role is just to ensure providing the people in gaza with the basic humanitarian needs, so, we will continue providing our humanitarian aid, trying to alleviate the suffering of palestinians, as i just said what was allowed to get in is only a drop in the ocean. we still count on the international community to continue advocating for the entry of aid, without any restrictions or any -- would any restrictions, because simply, the situation doesn't handle anymore delay. the situation is just catastrophic. now, hospitals are witnessing a collapse status, due to running out of fuel, as well as medical

supplies and medicine. besides more than 2 million people who are without food and water, 1 million palestinians have been displaced, and now are just sheltering either in schools or even at hospital, without having any basic needs. it just is crucial for the international community to take a step for humanity and try to fulfill the needs of palestinian civilians, as well as hospitals. hospitals, medical facilities, and personnel should not be a target for israeli occupation forces, whether targeting the hos hospitals immediately by bombarded the hospitals, or even deniying the access of medical supplies. our hospital is still under the threat of being bombed at any moment because of the -- >> i don't know if you can hear me, thank you very much for your time. we appreciate it. and we should note, you did say

something about israeli bombardment of hospitals, there was that hospital blast that occurred this past week, it has been determined by the israeli forces and the united states, as well as other international officials that that was the result of an errant rocket strike that came from inside gaza, as you know, but all right, nibal, thank you. >> it's our hospital. it's now under the threat of being bombed. we have -- >> i understand that. >> we have received a warning from israeli occupation forces yesterday, they called us, threatening -- demanding immediate evacuation. >> thank you very much for your time. >> that's not only the case with our hospital, along with 24 hospitals. >> we just have to make sure we're passing on accurate information. thank you for your time.

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it's back to the drawing board for house republicans, as they continue their struggle to elect a new speaker of the house. on friday, republican lawmakers voted to pull the plug on jim jordan's speaker run after he lost in a third round of voting, setting the stage for new candidates to emerge. joining us now to discuss is republican congressman tim burchett of tennessee. he voted to oust kevin mccarthy as speaker. congressman, great to see you. thank you for doing this. where do we go from here? where does the house go from here? we saw the house majority whip announce he's running for speaker. congressman mike johnson of louisiana declared he is running. do you have someone you are supporting at this point? >> well, if i did, jim, it would probably tank then, being that i'm one of the eight. i'm probably not one of the more popular people in congress right now, so, i would -- i think i'll just keep that between me and those people that i support. >> well, to that point, the former speaker kevin mccarthy is calling you and the other seven

republicans out for what's happening right now. let's listen to this, hopefully you can hear it, we'll talk to you about it on the other side. >> sure. >> the crazy eights led by gaetz, the amount of damage they have done to this party and this country is insurmountable. we're in a very bad position as a party, one that has won the majority, one that america has entrusted us with, that a simple eight people have put us in this place. >> congressman, he's calling you the crazy eights. >> well, i've been called worse. the trouble is is that we followed the rules. the rules that kevin mccarthy voted on, that were voted on unanimously by our conference. and we followed them to a "t," and if they didn't like those rules, they shouldn't have put them in place. but the truth of the matter is, you know, our former leadership just kept us going down the road. you know, we ran up a trillion dollars in debt in three months. we took off the whole month of august, two weeks into september, knowing that september 30th was the end of

our fiscal year, and i appreciate his speech writers and their clever writing, but that doesn't serve us very well. we would have been off the last week anyway. and after we came through that almost shutdown of our government, you know, we came back and what did we do? we rushed to the floor on that monday and named toile post offices. >> well, do you think -- you're going to need a speaker sooner or later. do you think you would have had one by now if perhaps somebody was able to emerge that you could get behind? or is this one of those situations where this is going to take -- this is going to take awhile? >> sure, i supported -- i supported scalise, and i supported jim jordan, as well. and you know, we just didn't get there. we've got a deep bench. we're going to be okay. we'll have a couple more weeks of work on this budget situation, the continued resolution, which is what they

always seem to pass, but yeah, i think we're going to be okay. i don't -- i'm not getting too worked up about it. we -- >> you don't think it's a bad look that the house of representatives for the united states government doesn't have a speaker of the house? >> yeah, of course i do. but it's the situation we're in. it doesn't negate the fact that we just kept running up that debt. and we're going to crush our whole system if we don't get control of that debt. we're paying a trillion dollars a year just in interest alone to china. and what model does it work out where you take in $4.6 trillion and spend $7 trillion? you know? it's what we do every year. and yet we just -- enough is enough. we've got to take the fiscal bull by the horns and that -- >> yeah, but congressman, one of the things that got in the way of jim jordan is that there were some brass knuckles tactics being employed in that there were members of congress being threatened, spouses of members of congress being threatened to support jim jordan, or else.

and i'm just wondering -- >> right. >> what you thought of that, and do you know who was behind that? >> no, i don't, and if it was -- well, we're probably a semifamily show, but i would have taken that into my own hands. you know, i've lived with death threats, sexual violence threats against members of my family, and capitol hill police, they told me they didn't consider it a real threat. you know, so, i've lived with that. i've spent $30,000 on home security on our farm. you can't -- you can't put your foot or your boot on my farm without me having a picture of you, or something, because -- there's a picture of eight or nine people in my office that are back in the mail room, if they were to show up, we're supposed to call the u.s. marshals, because they are considered to be dangerous, so -- that have made threats against us. >> do you think that backfired or on jordan? it sounds like the threats really cropped up when he was

the one that was for speaker, so, i wonder if that is something that perhaps members there might want to rethink, and do you think we're going to see more of that? >> it didn't help, but i don't think jim orchestrated it. there were three groups against jim. you had the apro ray or thes, and as you know, there's three parties, there's republicans, democrats, and apro ray or thes, and they didn't like the fact that jim had talked about passing a budget of all things, which we're required to do by law. when you do the continued resolutions, you know as well as i do, jim, all that does is it passes the budget that we had before, and you add on all the other lobbyists and special interest groups, and then you have a freshman group, primarily those out of new york and very purple districts, and then you had folks that, for -- they support the american military and they support every war we're in and every war we're about to get in, so, those are actually

the three groups that were against -- on the threats. >> what about the patrick mchenry idea, giving the current speaker pro tempore, patrick mchenry, more power? that way, you can get things potentially accomplished between now at the end of the year to prevent a government shutdown, get aid to israel, those sorts of things? you can't really do anything right now, congress is paralyzed. >> yes, sir. yes, sir, well, we don't know constitutionally if that's legal or not. and also, it pushes -- we just won't ever get a speaker, if we do that, it will be just like passing a budget. we'll have a speaker-lite, so to speak. i don't like bow ties, but i like patrick mchenry. he wears a bow tie. he's not comfortable in that role, either. just because of the constitutional suspect nature of that, so -- i think what we better do is just hold our feet to the fire. we should have not gone home. we were championing and yelling and staying there to finish our

business, which is what we should do, and i think that would send a clear message to america that we mean business and we're trying to get this thing wrapped up. as far as israel goes, you know, the president has that $100 billion aid package, and only 10 billion -- 10% of it goes to israel, oddly enough. the majority of it goes to ukraine, i believe. and honestly, we haven't even seen that, the senate hasn't seen that -- >> we'll double check those numbers, but -- i think that there is a need to get that aid passed, is there not? are you saying that you're opposed to that? at a moment like this? >> no, sir. i'm not opposed to the aid to israel. i'm opposed to anymore aid to ukraine. and the president's making it a political issue by tying those two, three things together. and he made a very specific point -- >> doesn't he have a cause toll, or -- an inclination to do that

sort of thing when we don't even have a speaker of the house, there's no speaker of the house right now, so, one might think he'd have to bundle some things together or else you might not get anything passed. >> that was -- no, that's what they proposed before. it would be two simple bills, jim. all they would have to do is send two bills over. both would pass and then -- and, you know, he sent hundreds of millions of dollars to ukraine without congressional approval. he's already sent the largest carrier group in the world t there. we've got 12 ships going to the med. we've got -- we send them $3.6 billion a year of -- their guns, their armaments, are stacked, and the last thing that israel needs, anymore interference of the united states of america. let them fight this war. they know how to fight those wars, and our wars -- our rules of engagement would hamper them, i do believe, as well, so -- i

think they're going to be fine. we're going to get back to work, we're going to elect a speaker and take care of israel. >> all right, thank you for your time. appreciate it. we'll follow up on some of those points. >> go vols. >> thanks a lot. a live report from israel straight ahead. we'll be right back.

sidney powell, who once vowed to release the kraken to help donald trump by pushing claims of election fraud, has flipped on the former president. here's what she said after the 2020 election. >> we are not going to be intimidated. we are not going to back down. we are going to clean this mess up now. president trump won by a landslide. we are going to prove it. and we are going to reclaim the united states of america for the people who vote for freedom. >> but this week, sidney powell did back down. the former trump attorney struck a different tone, pleading guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to interfere with the election to keep trump in power. and yesterday, kenneth chez bro,

pleaded not guilty in the case, as part of their plea deals, both powell and chez bro agreed to testify truthfully in future trials against their co-defendants, which include former president donald trump. let's bring in defense attorney shan wu. how shocked were you when the sidney powell news came down and then kenneth chez bro one day later? >> more shocked with chez bro, jim. powell is sort of seemed like the pressure was really mounting on her. chez bro is a little bit of a surprise, that quick turnaround. he seemed, i don't know, seemed like -- i'm not sure what he was bowing to, in terms of the pressure. these are significant victories for the prosecution. i'm not quite sure the term flipping fully applies to them. theoretically it does, they have to give truthful testimony. these don't look like the traditional full cooperation agreements, especially when you hear some of the comments from the lawyers afterwards. i think they're going to try to do what i call the weisselberg walk, the cfo in the new york

case where he pleads guilty and he tries to avoid being charged with perjury, but he still walks a very tight line, trying not to incriminate folks like trump. and i think we're going to see that happen with both of these defendants. >> that's fascinating. and so, shan, if that happens what do prosecutors, and what does the judge do, frankly? >> if it's done skillfully from a defense counsel standpoint, the prosecutors can try to say, hey, you're not coor ratcoopera they want to argue that he or she has breached the plea agreement to testify truthfully, they'll have to bring a motion and it will be the subject of litigation within that case. so, the immediate remedy, really isn't there, and they may be counting on that to avoid having to really fully flip in the sense that we think of that as happening. >> and so, we should not be jumping to conclusions here that sidney powell is going to spill the beans on what was going on

behind closed doors in the oval office? because that is an interesting perspective you're bringing up. a lot of folks thought the kraken has cracked, we're going to get all this information at the trials. and you're saying that might not be the case. >> i think so. she certainly had to admit guilty and some beans have been spilled already, they had to make proer ifs. i would just sort of manage expectations a little bit about just how fully a spilling of the beans she's going to make. >> and do you think these were sweetheart deals for powell and chez grow? i mean, they kind of got away with a slap on the wrist here, but i suppose if you are sidney powell and facing the prospect of hundreds of thousands of dollars of legal bills and so on, and possibly going to p prison, this looks pretty good. i can't imagine that fani willis would offer this kind of a deal without the expectation that she's going to get something in return. >> i agree. i think they are very good deals for them, even though they're

far less than what they're charged with. it's still a burden on anyone to take that hit in terms of the conviction, and for the prosecutors, this is a very significant victory. i mean, they're whistling down the defendants, who were denying any culpability, and they are beginning to whittle them down. and it's a big victory for the prosecutors. >> and do you think this is sort of, like, a mob or mafia case, where you get the little guy to flip to help get the big guy up the food chain? is that potentially what we might see here and might we see others flip? there was some talk of perhaps rudy giuliani might do something like this, but all of a sudden started raising money for his legal bills. >> yeah, i don't think the traditional mafia model really works here. those are people much lower down the food chain. i think we might see other people cut deals, even giuliani, but i would caution against the idea that they're going to completely just give up donald trump. i think they're going to be fighting to not do that while

still trying to protect themselves. >> yeah. you raise an interesting question, if we're going to see more games being played, and that could delay things, which plays right into the trump playbook. shan, as always, very interesting insights. thank you. we'll be right back.

an idf spokesperson says while israel's first priority is getting its hostages back, israeli troops are amassing on the southern border with gaza in a potential ground invasion looking potentially imminent. cnn's brian todd has more on this. >> reporter: meeting with soldiers in recent days, israel's defense minister said, quote, gaza will never return to what it was. an ominous signal of what's to come when israel launches its suspected ground invasion of gaza. >> one of the biggest forces in the world is prepared for an

environment like this is the idf, but of course, there is no bloodless war. they'll take a lot of casualties, and i think they know that. >> reporter: with more than 300,000 soldiers and reservists getting ready for combat, military analysts expect the israelis to launch the invasion on multiple fronts. >> this is gaza city, and what we can expect is for the israeli forces to most likely go in this way and this way, probably the preponderance of force will be in this direction into gaza city. >> reporter: inside gaza, experts say, this will be urban combat. possibly even tougher from the 2014 invasion. block to block, building to building, and vicious. the israelis facing an enemy that knows every corner. >> many challenges that the defenders had time to prepare, and no matter what, you have to move forward and basically wait until the defender shoots you. >> look how narrow this alleyway

is, how the soldier has to point up to see if there are any fighters above him. this is a perfect place for these fighters to be situated, for them to rain down fire. >> reporter: often caught in the crossfire, palestinian civilians. experts say hamas does not shy away from using civilians as human shields in a combat environment. >> hamas wanted all those people to stay. it has blown up, put in barricades, it has destroyed transit areas and other things in an effort to fix them in place. >> reporter: to ambush the israelis, analysts say hamas will use sophisticated ieds, snipers hidden on upper floors of buildings. another hamas asset, hundreds of miles of tunnels, known as the gaza metra. >> with the command controlled and the communication rooms and supply rooms and piers for launching rockets. >> reporter: and there's the

addeadd ed complication of the hostages hamas is being held the. there are up to 200 being held, many that could be in the tunnels. >> does that mean they'll go into the tunnels, or is it just too dangerous? >> it's very dangerous, but in certain circumstances, the israelis will probably feel the need to go into these tunnels. >> reporter: and the dangers don't end, even in the areas that the israelis will have secured. david me trace yus told cnn in the areas they capture, the israelis will have to conduct counter insurgency operations, because hamas and its allies will try to come back. up next, we'll talk to a father whose son is one of the many being held hostage right now. that man is pleading for his release, because of the life-saving medication his son needs. that's next in the "cnn newsroom."